Relationship of SNM ‘soldier,’ jail guard questioned
Prison employee accused of helping gang member in 2018 shooting
He was a self-professed “soldier” in the notorious Syndicato de Nuevo Mexico prison gang. She worked as a corrections officer at the Rio Arriba County Detention Center, where he was a prisoner.
The two became lovers. Whether they were partners in crime is still in dispute.
The SNM gang member, Jody Rufino Martinez, 41, is facing a life sentence after his conviction last month in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque on charges of racketeering and committing a murder in 2008 to further the criminal enterprise of the SNM gang.
Santana Bustamante, meanwhile, is still employed at the Rio Arriba County jail after she was investigated by state and federal authorities for allegedly aiding and abetting a felon in possession of a firearm.
Specifically, she was accused in a search warrant affidavit of providing Martinez with a .40-caliber Glock that investigators believe was used in a 2018 shooting of one of his rivals — or allowed him to use it. That gun was never found.
Records also show Bustamante, 29, was investigated for allegedly helping inmates at her jail retaliate against the victim of that shooting in January 2019 after he recovered. She has denied any wrongdoing.
The investigation involved the FBI, the 1st Judicial District Attorney’s Office and the state Attorney General’s Office.
In November 2019, Bustamante received a target letter from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Mexico notifying her she could be charged with aiding and abetting a felon in possession of a firearm.
But Bustamante has not been charged. She has no arrests or convictions. She couldn’t be reached for comment last week.